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Considering additional CSTEAM lessons…

I had a great CSTEAM Activity idea yesterday. Taking an old mathematics problem and adding social, science and engineering to the mix of the original math. Plus you can always take the time to express the possible with the art lesson.

A vehicle is traveling at 60 miles an hour with about a 50 % load. At a full load the vehicle gets 28 miles per gallon. The decrease from full to half load adds 2.2 miles per gallon bringing us to 30.2 miles per gallon. This mileage is achieved at the optimal speed of 66 miles per hour. Every mile an hour over 70 results in a decrease of .25 mpg.

First thinking project – how could you better design the vehicle to better handle an less than optimal load?

You can create an engineering team with an artist that could work together to create the first thinking project. A better vehicle based on optimizing the vehicle for load.

The next concept is length of trip. What has to be packed in order to keep everyone happy while the vehicle is moving. The wonder sometimes of the human mind is our limitless imagination. But every journey takes time, and idle hands produce boredom.

What activities work while traveling? We know the rate of speed makes reading difficult for some people. What other activities are there? Watching a movie is interesting but isn’t an option.

It is in the end a fun endeavor. Given a speed and a capability (MPG) what can you do improve the capability, build a better solution to the problem and also what can you do to keep everyone entertained while the journey goes on.